From san gu liu po to 'caring scholar': the Chinese nurse in perspective

This study presents a re-evaluation of the origins of Chinese nursing from the earliest traditional carers to the mature, professionalized institution of the republican period. The influence of traditional cultural values on the nature of the modern profession is discussed and its emergence considered in historical context with particular attention to the role of missionaries, philanthropic institutions and other aspects of foreign intervention, both European and Japanese. The Chinese anti-imperialist response, as stimulated by the 'May 4th Movement' and later the Sino-Japanese war, is shown to be an important ingredient in the transition from foreign to national control of the profession and in its achieving respect. Some doubt is cast on the assumption that Chinese nursing has followed a process of rapid convergence to the Western model.